Cultural Heritage Tourism as a Catalyst for Urban Regeneration: Case of the Doha Historic Center in Qatar

Abstract

Heritage and tourism have become during the last two decades dynamic areas of development in the world. The idea of heritage is crucial to the critical decision-making process as to how irreplaceable resources are to be utilized by people of the present or conserved for future generations in a fast changing world. In view of the importance of ‘heritage’ to the development of a tourist destination the emphasis on developing appropriate adaptive reuse strategies cannot be overemphasized. In October 1999, the 12th general assembly of the ICOMOS in Mexico stated, that in the context of sustainable development, two interrelated issues need urgent attention, cultural tourism and historic towns and cities. Without adequate rehabilitation actions to ensure a sustainable future for these historic resources, may lead to their complete vanishing. According to the World Tourism Organization, natural and cultural heritage resources are and will remain motivating factors for travel in the near future. According to the experts, people choose travel destinations where they can learn about traditional and distinct cultures in their historic context. Historic centers in the Gulf are now being recognized as valuable resources for sustainable development. This paper focuses on the role of heritage tourism and its implications for urban regeneration in the context of Doha in Qatar and Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, in order to use heritage wisely, it will be necessary to position heritage as an essential element of sustainable development, giving particular attention to heritage tourism.